Economics · Chapter 11
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Economic planning is the conscious and deliberate effort by a central authority to direct the resources of a country towards chosen goals over a fixed period of time. A developing country like Nepal uses planning to make the best use of its scarce resources, to remove poverty and to build the economy in a coordinated way. This chapter explains the concept and need for planning, the machinery of planning in Nepal, a review of the periodic plans, and the objectives of the current plan.
Economic planning means the drawing up and carrying out of a definite programme of action by the government to achieve fixed economic goals within a stated time, using the country's resources in a rational manner. Planning is needed in Nepal for several reasons. Resources are scarce and must be used efficiently and according to priority. The free market alone cannot remove deep rooted poverty, inequality and regional imbalance, so the state must guide development. Planning helps to build infrastructure and basic industries that need large investment, to coordinate the different sectors of the economy, to attract and direct foreign aid, and to set clear targets that can be monitored. For all these reasons Nepal has followed periodic planning since 1956.